“Water Crisis” Lebanon – Daily Star

4 articles
U.S. signs water MOU as Moqbel warns of crisis
Germany funds water treatment for Jeita Spring
Ministers to draft action plan for water crisis
Water crisis plan deemed unrealistic

U.S. signs water MOU as Moqbel warns of crisis

BEIRUT: The United States Embassy signed a Memorandum of Understanding with four regional water establishments Friday, as the ministerial committee following up on the looming water crisis announced plans to draft an action plan to tackle shortages.

Access to water was singled out as a top priority for Americans and Lebanese by U.S. Ambassador to Lebanon David Hale, during the signing ceremony held at embassy headquarters in Awkar. The MOU will formalize U.S. cooperation with water establishments in the Bekaa Valley, north and south Lebanon, Beirut and Mount Lebanon.

“With the dry winter we had in Lebanon this year, we’ve seen shortages, authorities have asked us to conserve, and there are fears the taps could dry out,” Hale said.

The MOU, signed by the United States Agency for International Development, defines a framework for cooperation between the USAID-funded Water Infrastructure Support and Enhancement program – a $26.2 million grant provided by USAID to enhance Lebanon’s water resource management – and each of the water establishments to improve overall financial and managerial performance.

The ministerial committee tasked with following up on Lebanon’s looming water crisis will draft an action plan within a week that will include short- and long-term solutions to address shortages, Defense Minister Samir Moqbel said Friday.

“The ministers agreed to … propose it to the committee and then to Cabinet so that the government can make appropriate decisions,” Moqbel told reporters after the end of the committee meeting he chaired.

Moqbel said the country was in need of technical solutions to face the crisis.

“Water shortage is now an inevitable crisis that requires fast and technical solutions to prevent the dangerous repercussions on citizens,” the defense minister said.

Chaired by MP Mohammad Qabbani, several parliamentary committees met earlier this week to discuss the water crisis and announced proposals to address the issue.

The proposals call for restrictions on water use – including a moratorium on irrigation for seasonal crops, in exchange for compensation to farmers – and a ban on washing cars and sidewalks and watering lawns, under threat of fine.

They also called for patching up existing infrastructure in order to prevent leaks and lifting VAT on the importation of water. They called for exploring the possibility of importing water from Turkey by sea using huge fabric balloons called Spragg Bags.

During the ministerial committee meeting that was attended by the environment, public works and industry ministers, Qabbani gave a detailed presentation about the committee’s recommendations.

Moqbel said the ministers also agreed that future solutions should focus on constructing dams and lakes as well as organizing awareness campaigns to limit water consumption.

Meanwhile, Environment Minister Mohammad Machnouk spelled out the severity of the shortfall.

“The shortage … is around 400 million cubic meters,” he told a local magazine. “We are only able to adopt water rationing policies for domestic and industry use.”

Germany funds water treatment for Jeita Spring
BEIRUT: The German-Lebanese project for the protection of Jeita Spring announced Friday that the establishment of a wastewater collection and treatment system in the Jeita groundwater catchment could now be implemented as a result of German funding for the project.

According to a statement released by the German Embassy in Beirut, the Jeita Spring suffers from a 100-year-old leaking system that collects water from one of the largest springs in Lebanon and distributes it to Greater Beirut.

A German-funded renovation project, the KfW JSPP project, aims to revive the spring with a wastewater collection and treatment system that would minimize the risks to drinking water. The new treatment system is ready for implementation, the statement said.

Germany previously funded the German-Lebanese Technical Cooperation Project – Protection of Jeita Spring – which aimed to enhance water capture and storage in the groundwater catchment of the Jeita Spring.

The enhanced water capture operation was launched four years ago by the GLTC and benefited from funding by the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development, which provided 1.7 million euros for the project.

During a workshop at the Monroe Hotel, the GLTC project revealed the results of its hydro-geological investigations to an audience of water sector professionals in Lebanon, alongside Environment Minister Mohammad Machnouk and German Ambassador to Lebanon Christian Clages.

BEIRUT: The ministerial committee tasked with following up on Lebanon’s looming water crisis will draft an action within a week that will include short- and long-term solutions to address the shortage, Defense Minister Samir Moqbel said Friday.

“After discussing the recommendations and solutions, the ministers agreed to put in place a detailed action plan within a week and propose it the committee and then to Cabinet so that the government can make the appropriate decisions,” Moqbel told reporters after the end of the committee meeting that he chaired.

Moqbel said the country was in need of technical solutions to face the water crisis.

Chaired by MP Mohammad Qabbani, several concerned parliamentary committees met earlier this week to discuss the water crisis and announced a series of proposals to address the issue.

The parliamentary plan calls for restrictions on water use, including a moratorium on irrigation for seasonal crops, in exchange for compensation to farmers, and a ban on washing cars and sidewalks and watering lawns, under threat of fine.

The plan also called for patching up existing infrastructure in order to prevent leaks and lifting the VAT on the importation of water. The proposal called for exploring the possibility of importing water from Turkey by sea using huge fabric balloons called Spragg Bags.

During the ministerial committee meeting that was attended by the environment, public works and industry ministers, Qabbani gave a detailed presentation about the committee’s recommendations

Moqbel said the ministers also agreed that future solutions should focus on building dams and constructing lakes as well as organizing awareness campaigns to limit consumption.

“Water shortage is now an inevitable crisis that requires fast and technical solutions to prevent the dangerous repercussions on citizens,” the defense minister said.

BEIRUT: Experts dismissed an ambitious parliamentary proposal put forward Wednesday to address Lebanon’s water crisis as impractical and unrealistic, saying the infrastructure, enforcement mechanisms and legal grounds for many parts of the plan were missing.

Beirut MP Mohammad Qabbani called on the government to declare a “state of water emergency” following a meeting of several concerned parliamentary committees that was also attended by the ministers of environment, agriculture, energy and tourism, as well as the head of the Higher Relief Committee, Maj. General Mohammad Khair.

Qabbani then announced a series of proposals as part of a comprehensive plan to address the crisis, which has resulted in water shortages throughout the country.

The plan calls for restrictions on water use, including a moratorium on irrigation for seasonal crops, in exchange for compensation to farmers, and a ban on washing cars and sidewalks and watering lawns, under threat of fine.

The government would effectively seize control of private wells while compensating their owners. Some of these wells would be integrated into the existing networks through an undetermined monitoring system.

The plan also called for patching up existing infrastructure in order to prevent leaks and lifting T.V.A. taxes on the importation of water. The proposal called for exploring the possibility of importing water from Turkey by sea using huge fabric balloons called Spragg Bags.

The restrictions would be enforced by the Interior Ministry in coordination with local government, municipalities, and the state water authority, Qabbani said.

But a water expert who has worked closely with the government on public water projects called the plan “impractical to say the least.”

“We can’t even get the Interior Ministry to stop illegal wells being dug, which is much easier than forcing people to conserve water,” said the expert, who asked to remain anonymous.

Moreover, the expert said it would take at least a year to put the enforcement mechanisms in place, and negotiating compensation with farmers and well owners would likely be a complicated process.

“Who decides how much and which farmers, and if you’ve decided not to produce seasonal crops, is there a plan to import these? How do you meet the demand of the local market?” the expert asked. “And as for taking over private wells, I don’t think we have the legal capacity.”

The expert also pointed out the technical challenge of hooking private wells up to the government network.

“There’s infrastructure that goes into it, and they have to control the quality of the water,” he said. “It’s been a dry year. Taking over wells is not the solution if they are all tapping into the same source.”

“Realistically, in the short term, given how poorly prepared we are, conservation is the only thing that can do,” he continued. “Raising awareness to conserve water and trying to aggressively fix any leaks in the networks, this is what we can do in a short period.”

Many of the expert’s concerns were echoed by Nadim Farajalla, an environmental hydrologist at the American University of Beirut.

“I would start with restrictions and really applying those, and then when push comes to shove, we would start looking at purchasing,” Farjalla said, adding that importing water from Turkey would likely be “cumbersome and very expensive.”

He also criticized the proposal for calling for more wells, saying the government should invest instead in water treatment and reuse.

Farajalla explained that while this year’s drought was severe, it still fell within what is considered the normal climate cycle for Lebanon.

“If it persists, becomes more frequent, then you can tie it to climate change,” he said of Lebanon’s dry spell. “What we’re seeing now is what we will be facing a decade or two into the future.”

Farajalla also pointed out the irony of the government’s recent decision to eradicate the hashish crops in the northern Bekaa Valley.

“Hashish grows well without water; that’s actually one of the few crops that economically makes sense right now,” he said sardonically.

“Our concern should be not only this year, but next year,” he concluded. “What is the plan to collect and store water and to prevent people from uncontrolled pumping?”

When reached for comment, Qabbani defended the plan but declined to speculate about the timeline for implementation or the estimated cost.

“We hope that at least we can do something before the peak” of the drought in August, he said, adding, “We have been making noise about this since March and nobody did anything because nobody cares.”

Regarding enforcement, Qabbani reiterated his proposal that the security forces in coordination with municipalities ensure compliance with the plan, which has yet to be adopted by Parliament.

“Our priority is not to close down wells; our priority is to get water, whether the wells are legal or not,” he said. “If we are serious, we can do serious work.”